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To: London Borough of Islington

Greener Grade II listed and conservation area homes

26/04/25

Back in 2022, you kindly signed our petition calling on Islington Council to simplify planning rules to allow more energy efficiency upgrades in listed and conservation area homes, for both owners and renters.

For three years, thanks to your more than 2000 signatures, our campaign group has lobbied hard for the Council to modernise its approach and strike a better balance between conservation and energy efficiency. In the autumn, the Council will finally publish a brand new set of rules. Although progress has been slower than promised and the first draft document has been flawed, we are pleased that many of our recommendations for a more user-friendly and cost-effective approach to planning will be adopted.

https://www.letstalk.islington.gov.uk/draft-climate-action-supplementary-planning-document

It took a huge collective effort by residents and experts to get us this far. We are particularly grateful to Chris Procter, author of a seminal climate emergency conservation area toolkit, for his meticulous critiques of the council’s work and getting the council to rectify important gaps like accepting slimline vacuum glass for windows.

Having got this far, it is now time to end our campaign. However, Chris Procter will continue to lead the way with both the Council and residents on all things retrofit. So if you wish to explore retrofit opportunities for your home please feel free to get in touch with him at [email protected]

https://www.procter-rihl.com/

In other news, our co-founder Leyla Boulton was recently elected councillor for the City of London's Bassishaw ward, where she will continue to campaign for better and more sustainable use of buildings. In the meantime she’s thrilled to have installed solar panels on her roof in Islington.

Thank you again for your support and happy retrofitting!

Leyla Boulton and Anne-Marie Huby

Co-founders
The Green Conservation Campaign

We call on Islington Council quickly to change planning regulations to facilitate the sensitive installation of solar panels, heat pumps and double-glazing on grade 2 listed and conservation area homes to make them warmer in winter and more affordable to power for all residents. **Update: we have successfully gathered the 2,000 signatures of local residents needed for the Council to hold a full debate, scheduled for July 2023. The council is working on a supplementary planning document which will be ready in the spring of 2024, and we will play an active role in consultations.** Though we have reached the milestone of 2,000, we welcome and appreciate more signatures! Thank you.

Why is this important?

The UK has enshrined its objective of carbon neutrality in law. Now, the double whammy of soaring energy bills and Russia's use of gas as a weapon of economic warfare make the development of renewables and increasing energy efficiency more urgent than ever before.

Grade 2 listed and conservation area properties are numerous and among the most energy-inefficient in Islington, which aims to become a net zero borough by 2030. With residential buildings accounting for over a third of carbon emissions, planning regulations are preventing landlords, tenants and residents from radically reducing their energy bills and their carbon footprint.

Councils such as Kensington & Chelsea are adapting their planning rules to help.

Experts agree that London will not meet its climate targets if its many listed homes and conservation areas are left unchanged, as current planning regulations demand. It also means homes are less energy-secure and more expensive to heat than they need be.

How it will be delivered

This petition is available to sign online, and we will also be collecting signatures on paper. We will deliver the petition both by email and, if allowed, in person.

Islington, London, UK

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Category

Updates

2025-04-26 14:37:37 +0100

Petition is successful with 2,216 signatures

2024-09-20 08:00:19 +0100

Leyla interview about our campaign with the Zero Ambition podcast https://share.transistor.fm/s/4cc9a9ec

2024-03-10 17:32:37 +0000

Five lessons from our campaign - by Leyla Boulton in the Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/9f628b0f-c5c0-498f-98b7-008e7ccb6bc8

2023-09-23 17:03:46 +0100

The Sunday Times reports on our campaign
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-we-need-to-make-it-easier-to-renovate-period-properties-rc0n5rw6s

2023-03-03 17:57:40 +0000

Islington Tribune reports on our collective triumph and next steps https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/call-for-clear-guidance-on-how-to-make-historic-homes-green

2023-03-03 17:56:39 +0000

A pre-Christmas 2022 update from the Islington gazette https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/23177795.campaign-islington-change-listed-homes-planning-regulation/

2022-12-22 21:58:44 +0000

Watch this webinar to find out more
about progress in our campaign and what Islington can learn from Kensington and Chelsea and other parts of the UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02RLyQsxxOc
2:00 Chris Procter, RIBA architect and lead author of the Climate Emergency Conservation Toolkit
23:23 Caroline Russell, Islington council Green party councillor and London Assembly member,
34:00 Will South – Etude, contributor to LETI Retrofit and London Councils Retrofit Guides
43:50 Christopher Jofeh, Arup, chair, Wales implementation group on residential decarbonisation
53:59 Sarah Buckingham, head of conservation and design for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
1:09:00 Q&A

2022-12-02 13:33:53 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2022-11-07 18:43:30 +0000

500 signatures reached

2022-10-23 11:50:20 +0100

The Financial Times published this article about our campaign using Leyla's house as test case of what needs to change https://enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/67fca022-0c19-4e99-a54b-3cd23ba6f448

2022-10-14 18:11:07 +0100

Our friends at the Islington Tribune wrote about our campaign. https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/planning-rules-stand-in-the-way-of-beating-the-draughts-town-hall-told.

2022-10-02 19:31:54 +0100

100 signatures reached

2022-09-30 19:27:22 +0100

50 signatures reached

2022-09-29 11:17:52 +0100

25 signatures reached

2022-09-29 07:40:24 +0100

10 signatures reached